Hurricane Response: "The whole church is there."

responding to recent storms and looking toward the future

In late September, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico, ravaging communities and systems still recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria five years ago, then later had additional impacts in the eastern provinces of Canada. Only a few days later, Hurricane Ian swept across Cuba, into the central coast of Florida, moving across the state and into Atlantic seaboard communities. 

From the first forecasts and predicted paths, to the immediate and emergent response needs, to the creation and implementation of partnership plans for long-term recovery and restoration, Disciples are there.

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Active in response and critical to ongoing long-term engagement, as Rev. Terri Hord Owens often proclaims: When Week of Compassion is there, the whole church is there. 

As assessments continue, ongoing response needs are cataloged, and ecumenical partners look down the road to months and years of recovery, it helps to have a sense of the scale and scope of the need.

• While Hurricane Ian affected homes in fewer counties than previous major hurricane systems (in 2017, Hurricane Irma caused damage in nearly every county across the state), the damage appears to be of greater intensity in many areas - in part due to the historic storm surge along the western coast and rainfall in the central and eastern counties. 
  
• The September report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that Hurricane Ian was the 15th billion-dollar disaster in the U.S. in 2022.
  
• Hundreds of thousands of registrations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been recorded, seeking relief and recovery assistance for households. This is on par with Hurricane Ida, which hit the gulf coast in 2021 .
  
• So far, assessments following Hurricane Ian reveal widespread damage from flooding and water forces (as opposed to wind damage where, for example, a roof is torn off). Flood and standing water damages are less often covered by insurance, and more reliant on volunteer and agency responsiveness. 
  

The needs for rebuilding homes and communities in the wake of this hurricane will be extensive, requiring a coordinated effort between local communities, government, businesses, and the nonprofit sector.  

Week of Compassion has offered support for churches and individuals, and for Disciples who are assisting in their community’s response. It is important to attend to the needs of our church family, and at the same time to be part of the work that our Disciples and ecumenical partners are doing in communities of all kinds, particularly with vulnerable populations who have reduced access to networks of assistance and recovery. 

Across decades of domestic disaster response work, Week of Compassion has established expertise and reputation for doing the work of the long term. We rely on strong, trusted relationships with ecumenical partners, local congregations and regional staff, and local and national volunteer coalitions. 

• Housed at First Christian Church of Daytona, Volusia Interfaiths Networking in Disaster (VIND) was a Week of Compassion partner after Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, and has only recently closed the last Irma-related cases. As with past recoveries, VIND will accompany survivors through their recovery processes for Hurricane Ian, connecting them with a variety of resources, providing financial and material assistance, and coordinating volunteers for repairs. This work will take years, and Week of Compassion is in regular conversation with VIND and our ecumenical partners about the best ways to collaborate.
  
• We also anticipate long-term presence in Lee County (Fort Myers area), and are in contact with local Disciples pastors and partners as these plans come into place. Meanwhile, Fort Myers Christian Church continues to collaborate with the Gladiolus Food Pantry and others to provide groceries and hot meals to the community.
  

Since September 22, Hurricane Ian has also been impacting Cuba. The hurricane leveled as a Category 3 upon landfall and caused floods; damage to infrastructure,housing, electricity and telecommunications services, and crops; and the disruption of critical public and social services. Through ecumenical partners, Week of Compassion anticipates providing humanitarian support to several hundred households, including food security; water, sanitation, and hygiene; health and non-food items; protection; and emergency preparedness.

Your gifts to Week of Compassion, designated ‘Hurricanes 2022’, empower this long-term recovery and engage Disciples in the meaningful work of ongoing relationship and hope.

Week of Compassion depends in great measure on local relationships - pastors, churches, and ecumenical partners closest to the need and to the response. While some local churches have been able to gather and offer supplies and resources to their neighbors, these local connections are also our entry point to caring for the needs of the community for the long term.  

More than being the fastest, largest, or first to respond, Week of Compassion focuses on caring for the community in meaningful ways that transform suffering into hope. In some cases, hope comes in the form of needed supplies, but in all instances, hope is made most real in genuine presence and ongoing accompaniment through fear and uncertainty, and for the long haul.

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